The K-drama world rolled into 2008 still riding the high that was 2007, a year in which a startling number of quality dramas were made, and enjoyed. Maybe it rolled in too fast. It ended up getting smothered by the waves of its previous success. In fact, you could say that it even got hit on the head by a stray surfboard, and sunk to the bottom of the ocean.

Depressing enough intro for ya?

But seriously, 2008 was a dark year for the K-entertainment industry, with not only dramas, but also movies suffering and generally showing poor quality. And not only that, but the economy went kablooie, and we suffered a sobering amount of tragic K-celebrity news.

Personally, this was a supremely frustrating year for a longtime and devoted K-drama fan like me. Before this year, I always gave dramas the benefit of the doubt, and would usually watch at least a certain number of episodes before I passed judgment on them, and decided to continue or discontinue watching. But this year, with every stomach-churning dud, I became more and more impatient, and started going through drama episodes like a vulture searching for roadkill. And boy, did I find a lot of roadkill.

I’m pretty sure 2008 was a record year for me in terms of abandoning dramas. And to think that I used to be the girl who would finish every drama she started, no matter how bad or how boring they were! But the older I get, the less patience I have, and the more critical I become. Besides, I’ve now realized just how precious my time really is. I don’t want to waste it on useless pap, thankyouverymuch.

Still, despite all that, there were a small handful of quality dramas this year. None of them quite matched the heights of some of the dramas of 2007, but still, any kind of quality was more than welcome in this gloomy year.

SONG OF THE DAY

La Dolce Vita – “사랑 꽃” (Love Flower) [ Download ]

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Read the rest of Dahee Fanel’s 2008 Review [Year in Review, Part 3] (4,255 words)

© Dahee_Fanel for Dramabeans, 2008. | Permalink | 60 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: A Star's Lover, Beethoven Virus, East of Eden, I Love You, Iljimae, Kingdom of Wind, La Dolce Vita, My Sweet Seoul, On Air, Rivals, Spotlight, Strongest Chil Woo, Tazza, The Painter of Wind, The World They Live In, When Night Comes, Who Are You?, year in review

Sorry for the delay. I had no intention of dropping My Sweet Seoul, but I also found myself dragging my feet to keep watching. I’ve had a hard time working up the interest, even though I do think the drama is high-quality. Strange dichotomy, that.

I wish I could like the series, I really really wish I could. But I think this just shows that interest and quality aren’t always perfectly correlative. So many other factors go into making a drama watchable and entertaining — as if I didn’t already know from the people yelling at me for dissing certain dramas! Taste is subjective, yes. Matters of “quality” can be “graded” based on specific criteria (directing, script, acting, plot), but ultimately a viewer’s enjoyment is subject to factors outside of those.

SONG OF THE DAY

Yoo Hee-yeol (aka Toy) – “여름날” (Summer day). This comes from the “Summer Days” advertainment series (mini-movies with a plot and its own soundtrack highlighting a laptop brand) starring Shin Mina, Hyun Bin, and Ryu Seung-beom. [ Download ]

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Read the rest of My Sweet Seoul: Episode 12 (2,233 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2008. | Permalink | 12 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Choi Kang-hee, Lee Seon-kyun, My Sweet Seoul

[Javabeans here. As I've mentioned several times in the past, I have a few issues with the otherwise charming SBS drama My Sweet Seoul, which has prevented me from enjoying the series as I probably ought. I expressed, in growing dissatisfaction, my initial disconnect with Choi Kang-hee's acting, a growing frustration with the Eun-soo character in Episode 7, and then an all-out rant after Episode 9.

I wanted to get the other side and bring a more balanced view, because god knows not everyone hates Eun-soo, otherwise this series would have no audience. So I invited Dahee Fanel, who has previously done me the honor of sharing her 2007 wrap-up review, to explain the other side. The result was an enlightening conversation, and despite the fact that I think Dahee and I pretty much disagree on most key points (LOL!), I had tons of fun debating the point with her. Hope you enjoy!]

SONG OF THE DAY

Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong – “Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off” (Btw, who calls oysters “er-sters”? Or pronounces after “off-ter”?) [ Download ]

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Read the rest of Point-counterpoint: In defense of Eun-soo (182 words)

© Dahee_Fanel for Dramabeans, 2008. | Permalink | 28 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Choi Kang-hee, Lee Seon-kyun, My Sweet Seoul, ranty/ravey

I like the opening animated sequences of My Sweet Seoul because they’re usually cute, literal representations of the metaphors Eun-soo uses in the drama itself. In this one, for instance, wall meets wall at the corner. A small flower springs up where they connect, windows are created on both walls, the blooms flourish, and Young-soo waves at Eun-soo. So you can be a brick wall and still find love. Aw.

SONG OF THE DAY

Taru – “오! 다시” (Oh! Again) [ Download ]

 
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Read the rest of My Sweet Seoul: Episode 11 (1,735 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2008. | Permalink | 9 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Choi Kang-hee, Lee Seon-kyun, My Sweet Seoul

Let this be a lesson to me: A drama featuring someone with whom I have fundamental character issues, no matter how well-done the series, will be as much disappointment as enjoyment. It’s turned my initial admiration for a well-crafted series into a love-hate relationship. (Well, more like-dislike.)

I imagine the series is sweet and wonderful if you’re not bothered by Eun-soo or Choi Kang-hee, but let me pose a question to the rest of y’all: If you’re having issues with Eun-soo, does that affect how you feel about the series as a whole? Are you still enjoying My Sweet Seoul? Or are you like me, wanting to give up the series at those frequent flashes of disgust but convincing yourself to stay when those flashes fade?

SONG OF THE DAY

Lee Jung – “빈자리” (Empty place) [ Download ]

 
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Read the rest of My Sweet Seoul: Episode 10 (1,983 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2008. | Permalink | 27 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Choi Kang-hee, Lee Seon-kyun, My Sweet Seoul

This episode both exasperated me and provided some satisfaction. Warning: long rant ahead.

SONG OF THE DAY

Lee Ji Hoon – “Goodbye” [ Download ]

 
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Read the rest of My Sweet Seoul: Episode 9 (3,020 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2008. | Permalink | 19 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Choi Kang-hee, Lee Seon-kyun, My Sweet Seoul

Episode 8 was cute, meditative, and full of quiet little moments. Lee Seon-kyun lovers, brace yourselves! He’s pretty adorable here, even if I can’t get over the nagging feeling that Young-soo is way too good for Eun-soo. (I’m trying REALLY HARD to like her, peeps. It’s hard. But Episode 8 did a decent job of it.)

SONG OF THE DAY

Jaurim – “Drops” [ Download ]

 
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Read the rest of My Sweet Seoul: Episode 8 (1,771 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2008. | Permalink | 12 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Choi Kang-hee, Lee Seon-kyun, My Sweet Seoul

 
The following article from OSEN takes a look at the difference between the types of dramas on the air these days. I find a lot of mainstream entertainment press to be oversimplified (I’m sure I’m just not looking in the right places), but it’s something to chew on, for those of us who are curious about the relationship between ratings and the popularity/quality/success of a drama — as much as we all like to say it doesn’t matter.

Popular Dramas, Buzzworthy Dramas — There’s a Difference

There are dramas that bring in high viewership ratings but don’t get talked about much. On the other hand, there are also dramas that don’t pull in strong ratings numbers but are constantly being discussed. A drama’s content, actors, and its PR are all potential factors in drawing attention, but they don’t necessarily correlate to good ratings. Because there are many ways to watch a drama these days, the significance of ratings is gradually receding, but it’s still the primary factor in deciding advertising, and is the standard for measuring popularity. …

SONG OF THE DAY

Gourmet OST – “너에게” (To you) by Casker. I’m still trying to catch up on Gourmet, but for now I will say it has a standout soundtrack. [ Download ]

 
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Read the rest of Popular vs. buzzworthy dramas (1,537 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2008. | Permalink | 34 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: drama ratings, Gourmet, Iljimae, La Dolce Vita, Lee Dong-wook, manhwa adaptations, mania dramas, My Sweet Seoul, Oh Yeon-soo, Sohn Ye-jin, Spotlight, Strongest Chil Woo, When Night Comes, You're My Destiny

Hmm. I didn’t really love the first half of Episode 7, although that wasn’t because it was bad. I think we’re just in that phase where plot setups start to bear results, and some of those can lead to uncomfortable moments. The developments are necessary, of course, and we get some nice acting amidst a more somber tone. And this scene (with Eun-soo and Young-soo in the rain) was a definite highlight.

Also, last week only aired one episode, so tomorrow we’ll be back with Episodes 8 and 9.

SONG OF THE DAY

VEIL – “Special” [ Download ]

 
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Read the rest of My Sweet Seoul: Episode 7 (2,504 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2008. | Permalink | 15 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Choi Kang-hee, Lee Seon-kyun, My Sweet Seoul

You know, I’m not sure if it’s the choice of music, or the way the episodes are structured, or the loose feel of the plot, but there’s something about My Sweet Seoul that reminds me of Japanese shoujo anime. (Perhaps old-school shoujo; I haven’t watched any in years so I can’t be sure of the current trends.) Cute, short, sweet with romantic conflict that is on the brighter side of realistic; real problems, but not painted in overly serious tones.

SONG OF THE DAY

Vistee – “My Everything” [ Download ]

 
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Read the rest of My Sweet Seoul: Episode 6 (2,088 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2008. | Permalink | 8 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Choi Kang-hee, Lee Seon-kyun, My Sweet Seoul